Evan DashevskyJason Cohen20 Hidden Chrome Features That Will Make Your Life EasierGoogle's Chrome browser has a ton of hidden little tricks that you may not know about. Here are 20 tips that will make you a better Chrome user.

Browsers offer us a window into the magical world of the internet, and they do far more than you realize. It's not just about visiting webpages anymore— browsers function as something of an operating system in their own right, which is really not all that far off with Chrome OS now powering Google's Chromebooks.

While there is still plenty of debate over which web browser is the best, there's certainly something special about the sleek, minimalist package known as Google Chrome. And the data show that most users agree: According to the latest numbers from W3Schools, most internet users are on Chrome, and it's not particularly close.

These numbers are based on visitors to W3's site, so they aren't a definitive representation of the greater population; Net Applications has things slightly more equal, for example. However, regardless of the final tally, Chrome is still a wildly popular browser, and if you're not using it, you should at least consider checking it out.

One of the reasons for Chrome's popularity is its clean, polished UI and its versatility. While Chrome's abilities multiply greatly when you consider the near-bottomless library of extensions, there's a bounty of stock functionality embedded all throughout Chrome's guts that you may not even know about.

Check out the list below for tricks hidden inside Chrome that you really need to be using.

Avoid Tracking With Incognito Mode

I'm often surprised how many people don't know about "Incognito mode" (aka Private Window in Firefox and Private Browsing in Safari). When you go Incognito, your browser doesn't keep track of browsing history, nor will it store any browsing cookies. It's a good option when browsing for things you might not want the world to know about, be that holiday gift shopping, creeping on exes, or more adult activities.

To open an incognito window in Chrome, click the three-dot icon () on the top-right of the browser and select "New incognito window." On mobile, tap the three-dot icon on the bottom-right (iOS) or top-right (Android) and select "New incognito tab."

We should note that Incognito mode will not block your behavior from being monitored by work or by the websites you visit (they can still log your IP address).If you're serious about online privacy, consider a VPN service.

Delete Your Chrome History

If you want to clear out your browsing history, click the three-dot icon on the top-right and select More tools > Clear browsing data (or press Control-Shift-Delete on a PC and shift-Command-Delete on a Mac). In the pop-up window, you can delete everything or select specific types of information you want to delete: browsing history, download history, cookies and other site data, cached images and files, passwords, autofill data, content settings, hosted app data, and media licenses.

Cast Your Screen

You know you can use your Chromecast to cast content from services like Netflix and Hulu from your phone to your TV. But you can also beam what you're seeing on your PC screen to the TV with Chrome's built-in Cast functionality.

The most direct way to do this is to right-click anywhere in Google Chrome and select "Cast." You can also get to it via the three-dot icon on the top right. In the pop-up window, select the Chromecast-enabled device on which you'd like your browser window to appear.

This is a good way to cast content from Amazon Prime Video if you don't have one of Amazon's set-top boxes or dongles. Since Google and Amazon are rivals in the space, Prime Video is not compatible with Chromecast, but you can load up a Prime Video movie or TV show in your browser and Cast that to the TV.

Search Directly Inside Sites With the Omnibox

You can search through many websites without actually navigating to them, as long as they're in your list of search engines. This trick is beneficial if you wanted, for example, to go directly to the Wikipedia article on orangutans without visiting Google.com or Wikipedia's front page.

First, go to Settings > Search engine > manage search engines. There, you'll see your default search engine (the one Chrome uses whenever you type a query into the omnibox), other sites already available for quick searches, as well as the option to add other websites to the list.

So, for a quick Wikipedia search, type "Wikipedia.org" in the omnibox, and on the far right, you'll see a prompt telling you to press tab to search within the site. Once you press the tab button, you'll see "search Wikipedia" written in blue on the left side of the omnibox; type your query and Chrome will only search within Wikipedia.

This function isn't specific to reference or search sites. You can use the omnibox to search directly through nearly any site—even PCMag.com—as long as it's included in your managed list of search engines. Chrome will automatically add these "keyword searches" to any site you visit.

To do this manually, add "site:" to a query. Say, for example, you want to see everything PCMag has written about fitness trackers, you could type "fitness trackers site:pcmag.com" into the omnibox, and Google will return results from our site.

Right-Click to Search Google

If you're ever on a webpage and come across a word or phrase you want to know more about, Chrome offers an easy, built-in search option. Highlight the word(s) you want to search, right-click, and select "Search Google for [word]." A new tab will open and your Google search will appear. If you're using a Mac, control-click on a highlighted word to perform a search.

Alternatively, you can also highlight a word or phrase, then drag and drop it directly into Chrome's omnibox to perform a web search.

Quick Mobile Search (Android)

To search a word or phrase on an Android device, highlight any word or phrase via a long tap and Chrome will generate a search card for that term via a pull-up menu at the bottom of the screen. Slide up for more or tap on the link to visit the web address. On iOS, highlighting a word or phrase will produce a pop-up with the option to "Look up"

Open a Search in New Tab

If you type a search into the omnibox and realize you don't want to navigate away from the current page, hold down the Alt button (Command on Mac) and hit return on your search, which will open your query in a new tab.

Search for Open Tabs

If you tend to have dozens of tabs open at any given time, you can quickly switch between them by typing the name of service or its URL into the omnibox. On supported sites, you'll see a "Switch to this tab" notice on the right-hand side. Click it to jump to that tab.

Drag Multiple Tabs at Once

Most people are familiar with the ability to drag and drop Chrome tabs into their own browser windows, or mix and match them between browser windows, but they may not know that it can be done with more than one tab at a time. Just hold down the Ctrl key and click on all the tabs you wish to move and you can move them as one. If you're on a Mac, hold the Command key.

Open Accidentally Closed Tabs

Have you ever mistakenly closed a tab? We all have, but thankfully Chrome is a forgiving browser and makes it possible to get it all back. Just right-click on another open tab and select "Reopen closed tab" or press Control-Shift-T (Command-Shift-T on a Mac) and Chrome will reopen any recently closed tabs. You can keep hitting it for more closed tabs working your way back through your browsing history. If you closed an entire window, with all your precious pinned tabs, open or click on a new Chrome window and select "Reopen closed window."

Browse Through Tabs Using Key Commands

If you ever need to read something quick on another tab, hold down the Control key (Command on Macs) and a number 1 through 9. Each number is associated with a different tab starting with 1 all the way to the left and moving incrementally through 9 tabs as you move to the right.

Drag a URL to the Bookmarks Bar

If you come across a website you will want continual and easy access to, highlight the URL and drag it to the Bookmarks Bar. You can also click and drag links from a web page directly into the Bookmarks Bar. Or drag a URL from outside Chrome and add it to your Bookmarks.

Add a Link to the Desktop

Chrome also offers a built-in way to add a clickable link to your desktop for later use. Just click the three-dot icon in the top-right corner and select More tools > Create shortcut. In the pop-up window, type in a name and click Create. This creates a clickable link on your desktop with an icon to represent the page.

Open Specific Pages at Start

If you always navigate to the same pages on the web, Chrome makes it easy to have them open every time you fire up Google's browser. In the Settings menu, scroll down to the "On Startup" section and tick the box next to "Open a specific page or set of pages." There, you can add a new page to your startup menu. Add Facebook, Gmail, and PCMag.com, for example, and those sites will always open in separate tabs whenever you load up Chrome.

You can also choose to "Continue where you left off," which will load up the browsing session you had going before you closed the window.

Drag and Drop Images and Media

Chrome does a little bit of everything, like function as a multimedia browser for all your computer files. Do you have an image or media file you want to quickly check out? Drag it into Chrome, and the browser will show you the image, play the video, or let you listen to the music.

Download Files Where You Want Them

If you can never find downloaded files on your computer, Chrome allows you to designate where they are stored. Navigate to Settings > Advanced > Downloads. Under location, click Change. In the pop-up box, you can set your downloads to be saved in a particular folder.

Easy Password Management

We at PCMag recommend that you secure your online accounts with a password manager, but if you're still using one-off codes, Chrome can suggest hard-to-decipher passwords. First, make sure Sync is turned on for personal computers (use Guest Mode on public devices). Then, when you go to a website and create an account, Chrome will produce a drop-down with a suggested password when you go to enter one. Passwords are saved in the cloud and can be accessed at passwords.google.com.

Update Autofill For Easier Shopping

When you're shopping online or filling in personal information, sometimes it would be nice to just have all that information readily available. Thankfully, Chrome can help.

In the Settings menu, you will see separate entries for Payment Methods and Addresses, where you can store numerous credit cards and shipping addresses. When Chrome identifies a form to purchase something, the data you've saved will automatically show up in a drop-down list (you'll still have to enter your credit card's CVC number). This also works on mobile.

Task Manager

Just like your Windows PC, your desktop browser has its very own task manager, which you can use to monitor the various processes it is undertaking and how many resources each one is sucking up. To access it, click the three-dot icon in the top-right corner and select More tools > Task manager (or select Shift + Esc).

The pop-up window will display all the plugins, extensions, and tabs currently in progress. But you'll also see how much of your browser's resources each process is using (things like memory and image cache). If any appear to be causing a problem (like slowing down or stalling your browser), you can close that window directly from the task manager.

Enable Cloud Printing

Though many of life's tasks can now be carried out via touch screens, sometimes you still need to hold a piece of paper. Google Cloud Printing lets you print to any connected printer, from anywhere. It's easy to set up any "Cloud Ready" printer; just follow your manufacturer's provided instructions (or click here).

If you have a more old-school printer, you can still hook it up to Cloud Printing—as long as it's connected to a computer on which Chrome is installed and any remote printers are logged into the same Google account.

To set up your printer, on the associated computer's Chrome browser, go to Settings > Advanced > Printing > Google Cloud Print > Manage Cloud Printdevice to add or remove any printers. Here, you will also set it so all printed documents are also saved as PDFs on your Google Drive account.

Get More Google Chrome Tips

About the Author

Evan Dashevsky served as a features editor with PCMag and host of live interview series The Convo. He could usually be found listening to blisteringly loud noises on his headphones while exploring the nexus between tech, culture, and politics. Follow his thought sneezes over on the Twitter (@haldash) and slightly more in-depth diatribin' over on th... See Full Bio

Jason has been writing and editing professionally since graduating from University of Maryland, College Park in 2010. He has previously served as a technical writer for a government contractor and a copywriter with a digital advertising agency, where he wrote about marketing and tech. Most recently, he was writing about the New York Yankees for SB ... See Full Bio

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